SCREENING
WEDNESDAY 15.01.14 AT 8PM
THURSDAY 16.01.14 AT 8PM
AT BOZAR STUDIO
Since the mid-seventies artist Isa Genzken (°1948, Germany) has developed an impressive body of work. She is arguably one of the most important and influential artists of the past 30 years. At the moment MOMA (New York) is dedicating a retrospective to her work. With sculpture, collage, assemblage, artist books, paintings and public sculptures she marked her position in the art world. Other than the variety of different media she excels in innovative and bold use of materials.
Genzken’s film work is however less known, and has seldom been projected. At the opening night of her solo show in Brussels in 1993 her first film Chicago Drive was shown in Bozar. This film together with her other films, including the last one in collaboration with Kai Althoff, will now be screened again. In each film Genzken worked out a different perspective related to the following theme: the human individual in relation to its shell, the built environment and the social fabric.
Wednesday 15th of January at 8pm
Zwei Frauen im Gefecht / Two Women at Combat (Duitsland, 1974, 8′)
Directed by Isa Genzken. Cinematography by Benjamin H. D. Buchloh. With Isa Genzken, Susan Grayson.
In this filmed performance two women exchange the same set of clothing. While one person is undressing and passes the clothes on, the other female puts them on. A dress up party between two women.
Chicago Drive (USA/Duitsland, 1992, 27′).
Directed by Isa Genzken. Cinematography by Ray Wang.
On the occasion of her show at the Renaissance Society in Chicago in 1992, Genzken filmed the town as a filmset and as a theme. The film starts at a burial chapel on a cemetery out of town and travels in variations through the city with inner and outer views, ending in panoramic overviews. The city appears as a theatrical set of buildings in which human activity seems alienating. Some audio fragments heighten the scenery.
Meine Grosseltern im Bayrischen Wald / My Grandparents in the Bavarian Forest (Germany, 1992, 63′).
Directed by Isa Genzken.
During a winter stay at her grandparents’ chalet at the country in Bavaria, Genzken shoots a full vhs tape. With the camera loosely in hand, she observes and frames its rustic interiors and corridors in detail and in overview: her grandparents occupied with their daily life, some conversations, the winter landscape in the immediate surroundings and the delivery and unpacking of groceries. At the end she asks her grandfather what he would wish for her in life.
Warum ich kein Interviews gebe / Why I don’t give Interviews (Germany, 2003, 5’).
Directed by Kai Althoff.
In this short interview Isa Genzkens plays herself, while Kai Althoff acts as the journalist. In responding to reality Genzken answers why she doesn’t want to give any interviews: « Giving interviews is the opposite of making art. »
Thursday 16th of January, 8pm
Die kleine Bushaltestelle (Gerüstbau) / The Little Bus Stop (Scaffolding) (Germany, 2012, 71′).
Directed by Isa Genzken and Kai Althoff with Isa Genzken and Kai Althoff in the main roles.
Together with artist and friend Kai Althoff (° 1966, Germany) Genzken performed 20 sketches on several locations in Berlin, Cologne and New York. Every sketch places the artist in relation to another artist, a critic, a galerist, before an opening, in the pub, during a party, etc. All acting in every sketch is outspoken trash and straightforward. After a closer look each scene is meticulously arranged and contains motifs of both artists. In 2013 this film was awarded a Pot by Etablissement d’en face for the best thing seen in 2012.
